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Picente:
‘Not Yet Regional Interconnect’
Oneida
County Executive Anthony J. Picente today said that
Oneida
County
will step up its fight against New York Regional Interconnect’s proposed
power line.
“The
federal ruling telling us that
New York City
needs greater access to energy says nothing we didn’t already know,”
Picente said. “The issue with NYRI is not whether New York City has a
problem, but whether the right answer is to allow NYRI to ruin huge areas of
Upstate New York by an ill-conceived project that represents the biggest
community and environmental disaster in all of Upstate’s history.”
Picente
said the
Oneida
County
will work with community activists, state and other governmental partners to
prevent NYRI from moving forward with its project.
“Pre-empting
local and state control is unconstitutional in addition to being just plain
wrong,” Picente said. “The ruling that came out of
Washington
seems to point us in the direction of a resistance that will require a legal
fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. If that is what it takes to
block this project, then that is what we will do.”
Picente
said that although he was disappointed with the federal action, he believes
that the fight against the project is far from over. Picente said that
because it appears the fight will lead to litigation requiring additional
expertise,
Oneida
County
will be looking to expand its legal representation by hiring a
Washington-based legal firm.
“We
will work to present a united front against this project in upcoming
hearings, and we will use our unity with other areas to keep fighting,”
Picente said. “Some people may think this is the end; it is just the
beginning of a new part of our fight to protect our communities. So let me
make it clear: Ruling or no ruling, it’s Not Yet Regional Interconnect!”
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